《太平經》Vol. 41

Taiping Jing, Scroll 41: Instructions on Receiving the Four Named Books of Antiquity (55) — A Plain-Language Interpretation

Someone acknowledged that he was ignorant and did not understand how things worked. He bowed respectfully twice and asked just one question.

The Perfected One (a transmitter who has attained the Dao) said: “You have recently applied yourself diligently to your studies without giving up. This is a matter of asking on Heaven’s behalf. My duty is to explain the principles to the Perfected Ones; I dare not hold anything back. Speak.”

The other replied repeatedly, “Yes, yes,” then said: “Nowadays, these minor Daoist books are treated as ‘Heavenly Scriptures.’ The words of the sages of high antiquity, antiquity, and recent antiquity are compiled as ‘Sage Scriptures.’ The words of the greatly virtuous people of those three ages are compiled as ‘Virtue Scriptures,’ and the words of their wise and discerning people are compiled as ‘Wise Scriptures.’ I have read the words of the Celestial Master, but I still do not fully understand the purpose of ‘systematic collation’—checking each passage, selecting it, and revising it. I ask the Celestial Master to open the way and explain the order and sequence, so that the Lord of Virtue can establish strict teachings on this basis and issue instructions to all the worthy. Then each person can examine these texts and identify passages that support life and nurture, and that express good intentions.”

The Perfected One said: “You should always ask questions in this way. Good, good. I will explain everything in detail. Perfected One, please take note of what I say, and be careful not to leave anything out. I speak on behalf of Heaven and Earth, and make a method for the Lord of Highest Virtue to dispel the calamities of inherited burden—the accumulated sins and disasters passed down through generations—since the creation of Heaven and Earth. I dare not speak falsely; otherwise, I would incur the resentment of August Heaven and Earth below, and betray the wise and virtuous lord above. The guilt would be grave. Do you understand, Perfected One?”

The other replied, “Yes, yes.”

The Perfected One said: “Systematically collating Daoist books from high antiquity, antiquity, and recent antiquity means having all the worthy read the Daoist writings of past and present together. If they find one good word, one good instruction, or one useful matter in a scroll, they should record and copy it out. One good thing from each scroll yields ten from ten scrolls, a hundred from a hundred, a thousand from a thousand, ten thousand from ten thousand, and a hundred million from a hundred million. Good words, instructions, and matters are counted by scroll: ten scrolls yield ten good things, which make ten billion good words; likewise, if a hundred good things are found per scroll, that amounts to a hundred billion good words. Gather the copies in one place. Let all the worthy examine writings from past and present together. After they have finished reading, they should record everything they have selected, group the material by subject, and remove repetitions within each tradition or category. Then they should select the essential passages in order and arrange them. This will bring the work to completion and allow them to understand fully where the essential truths of Heaven, Earth, humanity, and all things in past and present are to be found. Then it will be possible to…” (The passage continues with the meaning of the scripture; collation should proceed according to the rest of this scroll.)

You know that the scripture has become “heavenly writing,” don’t you?

Well said, well said—you have understood.

I. Collating the sacred scriptures of High Antiquity, Middle Antiquity, and Later Antiquity according to the “诀 of Goodness”

• If ten “good words” (good sayings and good instructions) are gathered from one scroll, then ten scrolls yield a hundred, a hundred scrolls yield a thousand, a thousand scrolls yield ten thousand, and ten thousand scrolls yield a billion—and so on.
• If one scroll yields ten good words, the total is already a billion; if it yields a hundred, the total is ten billion.
• Have wise people record the texts together and gather in one good place. Combine and collate them by category, so that the wise can settle together and arrange them in order. Remove repetitions, and the result is a sacred scripture. Do you understand, Perfected Ones? (Reply: Yes, yes, we understand.)

II. Collating the “great goodness” in the sayings of the wise of High Antiquity, Middle Antiquity, and Later Antiquity

• Record ten items from one scroll, a hundred from ten, a thousand from a hundred, and so on, counting up to hundreds of millions and billions. Once the count is complete, group related items by category, so that the wise can settle together, remove repetitions, and arrange and set down the texts in order. The result is a scripture of the wise. Do you understand, Perfected Ones? (Reply: Yes, yes, we understand.)

III. If one records every good item in Daoist writings, scriptures, texts by the various wise, and the good sayings and instructions spoken by all kinds of people

• Gather everything in one place and complete the collation. Then, together with the wise and those of great De, distinguish and set out the material, letting related items illuminate one another. Remove repetitions, arrange the words and texts in order, and record them. This is called fully settling the writings of Heaven and Earth and the words that express human feelings. Not the slightest part of the good instructions will be omitted.
• This Dao is called the Scripture that Penetrates the Ultimate of Heaven and Earth and Yin-Yang; it must never be altered for ten thousand generations upon ten thousand generations. Well said, well said! The Perfected Ones may be said to have awakened.

IV. This foolish student falls short and now wishes to ask another question

Xing, the Perfected One, said: Since the distant beginnings of Heaven and Earth, the Yellow River and the Luo River have produced writings and diagrams; sometimes divine writings have appeared, sometimes divine birds have carried them and brought forth their texts. These have accumulated in great numbers and were never of just one kind. The works of sages and worthies have likewise accumulated in great numbers.

Why does the Celestial Master doubt, behold, and perceive as he does, and why does he wish to instruct everyone at once, having the wise of Later Antiquity collectively collate the writings and words of people from ancient and present times?

Note for clarity

• Collate: check, organize, and correct errors.
• Good words / good sayings and instructions: In the scripture, these mean good words and instructions that accord with the Dao and are fit to be passed down. The accumulation of them, scroll by scroll, is the Taiping Jing’s distinctive idea of “making a scripture by accumulating goodness.”
• Sacred scripture / scripture of the wise: Here these do not mean later Confucian or Buddhist “scriptures.” They refer to scriptural texts compiled from divine writings and the sayings of the wise; the scripture of the wise focuses on the words and writings of worthy people.
• Scripture that Penetrates the Ultimate of Heaven and Earth and Yin-Yang: The name of a scripture that encompasses the ultimate principles of Heaven and Earth and Yin-Yang.
• The final passage asks: Since divine writings, the Yellow River and Luo River texts, and writings conveyed by divine birds have existed in great numbers since ancient times, why is it necessary to gather everything at once and have the wise of a later age collate the writings and words of people from ancient and present times? The following passage of the scripture typically goes on to answer that writings have become confused in the latter age and must be brought into a single, authoritative order. This passage ends with the question.

A Plain-Language Interpretation of the Taiping Jing

What I have seen and heard, I dare not invent or speak of recklessly. I speak only out of concern for the virtuous and worthy people of later ages. Now Heaven has sent me into the world to serve as a ruler of great Dao and De (Virtue), and to lift the calamities and guilt that have spread since the world was created. The teachings of ancient and modern astronomers, the sacred writings, and the words of the worthy are already complete. My only concern is that each has devoted himself to just one subject.

If people now follow the method of one school alone, they cannot entirely remove the calamities and upheavals of Heaven and Earth. The disasters will continue to flow, passed on from one generation to the next, so that those born later fall ill and their illnesses and calamities grow worse. Heaven therefore pities the virtuous ruler and again makes him bear the burden on behalf of those born later, so they need not face it alone. These accumulated calamities and faults truly stem from the fact that earlier worthies and sages each excelled in one subject, yet none fully understood everything, and each fell short in some way. Heaven knows that their teachings are incomplete. That is why, from time to time, it brings forth writings and diagrams from the Yellow River and the Luo, as well as other divine books, whose words also differ from one another.

Great sages and worthies have appeared in different ages, each producing teachings on a particular subject, and their words have differed. For this reason, each has had limitations, with strengths and weaknesses of their own. It is clear that none could fully understand and explore the deepest meaning. As a result, residual calamities have always remained between Heaven and Earth, continuing without end from one age to the next, though at times they have been more severe and at other times less so. Heaven has therefore calculated that now the writings and records, from top to bottom, are fully complete. It has once again brought forth a sage, who has nothing further to create, add, or make room for in words, and nothing further to contribute to Heaven and Earth. Yet if Heaven were to bring forth another sage of great De, his words would again excel in just one field, and residual poisonous calamities would still remain, just as they did under the earlier sages and worthies.

For this reason, Heaven has instructed me to give a profound charge to the Perfected Ones and entrust the writings and teachings to the ruler of Dao and De, so that he may present them to the worthy and discerning. He is to gather, examine, and compare the writings of the whole world and the oral teachings of its people, bringing the upper and lower together to make them complete. He is to remove repetitions, retain the essential words, writings, and instructions, and record them as scriptures. Only then will the true writings, correct characters, and sound teachings of Heaven and Earth all be revealed. False and misleading teachings will be entirely cast aside, the great sickness of Heaven and Earth will be completely cured, and all spreading calamities will be extinguished. Then the people and all things will each find their proper place, free from further misfortune and suffering. That is why Heaven has commanded me to gather and compare these teachings.

In writing this book, I do not merely imitate words; I follow what can be confirmed by evidence. Examine my writings, and they can be verified.

If this method is put into practice, all the calamities, strange occurrences, illnesses, treachery, disloyal ministers, ill omens, and evil deceptions in the world will be completely cleared away, just as clouds are driven off on an overcast day. Tested in this way, my words and writings will not fail even once in ten thousand trials. But if people refuse to put my writings to practical use, then even if I respectfully receive Heaven’s pronouncements, transmit its words below, and make the documents visible to people, what can Heaven do to dispel calamities if no one uses them? If disorder lies within the documents, disorder will also lie within the people, and calamities will still have no way to depart. Do you understand, Perfected One? “Yes, yes. I understand. I will act accordingly.”

“I would like to ask about one matter. Please explain it plainly: since Heaven and Earth were first opened, the divine, the sage, and the worthy have all been born of Heaven. They have successively served as rulers and conveyed Heaven’s words to Earth; all have established laws for kings, capable of eliminating calamities and bringing peace to the realm. Today’s emperors put these laws into practice, do not depart from Heaven’s intent, and accord with the patterns of Yin-Yang. The documents they compose each have their own titles. What rank and title should be given to the books on Dao and De composed by the Celestial Master today?”

“Well asked, Perfected One. Why are they rightly named ‘The Affairs of Governance of the Great Cavern at Heaven’s Summit’? ‘Great’ means supremely vast: when this teaching is put into practice, its governance is most exalted and without equal. ‘Cavern’ means that the good and evil of Dao and De are fully understood throughout Heaven and Earth and the Yin-Yang; inside and out, in all six directions, everything responds. All act with care and turn toward goodness, so that every being finds its proper place. This teaching examines and organizes the celestial, terrestrial, human, and divine writings and words from the beginning of Heaven and Earth, selecting what is good and compiling it as the Scripture of the Cavern at Heaven’s Summit. When emperors apply it, all the worthy join their efforts and put it into practice. Within the four seas and the realm’s four borders, calamities are swept away completely. Its governance becomes clear and bright throughout, resembling the spirits of Heaven and Earth. Thus it is named ‘The Affairs of Governance of the Great Cavern at Heaven’s Summit.’ Do you understand, Perfected One?” “Yes, yes. This is awe inspiring and formidable. I understand now.”

(Above: Examining and organizing the writings, words, and instructions of the Upper, Middle, and Lower Antiquity.)